Drowning under piles of work

.Work is my new buddy.

I know, right? You'd think summer would be filled with blissful moments of relaxation and joy, but no, i have to do so much stuff!!

Today was more hectic than usual. I got assigned three stories! Well, they didn't tell me what to write. i had to go do all the research and run it past them and then write them one after another
Although... sometimes i don't even remember what i wrote about. haha.

they send me the test emails near the end of each day so i can fact check and proof read, and i'd come across a feature, and i'd be like, whoaaa this sounds strangely familiar! have i seen this before? am i psychic or something?? and then the light bulb goes off in my head, and i realize i just wrote it an hour ago. haha.

i'm glad to be getting some sort of experience writing about fashion, dining, design, travel, nightlife, etc... but at the same time, it feels weird to be writing about something i've never even heard of or been to. and having other people trust that i've done my research on the place when i myself am just as clueless as they are.

So anyway, back to the drowning under piles of work part, i just realized today that to get credit for the internship, i need to fill out surveys bi-weekly, go to 3 seminars at least, and either keep a blog (yet another one!) or do an informational interview! sigh.

.Bad News.

Today, the boss, juli b herself, called everyone in for a staff meeting.
then she uttered those 5 petrifying words: Who wants a pizza lunch?
I know, seems harmless, right? But you could tell by her tense voice and everyone's wary reactions that something was wrong. So i was like, ooooh, juicy news! Do spill! (obviously since i'm an unpaid intern, what happens to the company doesn't really affect me).

But then she sent me to go get her some sparkling water from the creepy grocery store! sigh. i guess she didn't want me hearing about private and confidential company news. but i still got the gist of it when i came back, and apparently everyone's getting a pay cut and fridays off (i would've rejoiced, but i already get fridays off).
so.... i guess the economy affects everyone. after that, the mood in the office just splattered and went plop.
oh well. at least they still get to keep their jobs, which is more than i can say for other people.

And then after the meeting, everyone was like, um... is the pizza offer still up? need to save money. next thing you know, we'll all be using food stamps. haha.

Anyway, before all that sad stuff, juli was telling us all about how she went home last night and found a homeless woman asleep on her STAIRS with her clothing all spread out and hung on the railing! weirdness. so she called 911 and the woman was gone by this morning.
Apparently, the old woman knocked on her window and asked her maid, "do you mind if i sleep here?"

And of course the maid said, 'NO. what do you think I am, running a homeless shelter? should i just invite you up and offer you a glass of champagne, and while i'm at it, draw a bath for you?'

at least that's what everyone in the office thinks she should have said. in reality, she simply said 'no.' hahahaha.

.More random observations.

I guess everyone who works gets off at 5pm, since when i got off at 7pm, NO ONE was in the bus. it was SO weird. it was just me and like 5 other people, and normally it's like completely packed.
So this cute little ah ma sat next to me and started chatting animatedly with me.
i guess i just naturally attract cute little ah mas. (she wasn't really little, she was big enough that i had to scoot over to the inside seat cuz she couldn't squeeze past me, but... you know what i mean)
Anyway, we became fast friends, and she kept telling me about all the cool, free events that was going on nearby, and encouraged me to go. i was like, wow! what an adorably endearing and hip ah ma! she was incredibly sweet, too, and i thought she was a Christian or something, but then she gave me her card with her Sanskrit name on it -- she was a yoga instructor.

It's kinda fun talking to random strangers. even though supposedly people in NYU aren't very friendly, i've talked to a couple of people in the elevator and here and there, and they're really nice. met one girl who goes to indiana university, and she was the first person here who actually heard of Taylor! yayyy. haha.

.News Guru.

Again, since there's nothing much to do at work sometimes, i read the news. A lot. Like, really, a lot. Until now i have nothing more to read.

Now i know about...
-the 2 Korean journalists who are being detained by North Korea for supposedly intruding into their territory to report on the situation there. North Korea is probably using them to hold the upper hand in diplomatic negotiations with the US.

-Chrysler going bankrupt and taken over/merging with Fiat.

-Swine flu possibly going to level 6 in WHO's pandemic measurement. but that's only measured by quantity and rapidness of spread, not severity.

-The murder of this doctor, George Tiller, who owned an abortion clinic in Kansas and performed all kinds of abortions, even at late stages in pregnancy. Some crazed anti-abortion guy burst into Tiller's church, where he was serving as an usher, and shot him. Now pro-life people wanna buy his clinic and turn it into a baby care center, to rid the world of the atrocities they think he committed.

-They're beginning to find the remains of the planes and the bodies in the Air France crash days ago.

-Some Israeli woman bought a new mattress and accidentally threw out her old one with a $1 million in it, and is now going through landfills to get her $$ back.

-Miss california was fired. but who really cares.

-News and pictures of the Twilight cast are EVERYWHERE. it's getting a little annoying.

-In Texas, a police officer told this 72-year-old grandma to get out of the car. she did, and cursed at him. he threatened to taser her, she said, 'you're gonna taser a 72-year-old woman??!' repeatedly.
And he did. hahahaha. i'm sorry, it was just so funny. she was a feisty little old lady, but she sure did not deserve it! i mean, what did the officer think she was gonna do? beat him with her walking cane? run away? (and by 'run' i mean 'hobble')

Watch the video here:
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/national_world&id=6857531

And much more. i can't believe i read so much. i've never been so knowledgable about the news in my entire life. i guess this is a good thing. now i can carry intellectual conversations with other people :)